Line Out - Comments on Schlager! http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager I've heard that word describe music for a long time, but never really investigated what the hell it meant. I know that in the 70, a time when major record labels would release double album compilations of their latest artist... Copyright 2008 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:11:46 -0800 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:27:21 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Abby Eurovision!

Around this time of year it starts dominating my pop-culture conversations. I am absolutely in love with it, in a wide-eyed bewildered sort of way. You should check out Bulgaria's entry for this year- if Europe's tastes are anything like mine (and they aren't, I think mine are possibly too absurd) it'll be Sofia 2009.

Also, a German TA of mine once gave me a CD of schalger music. It also continues to bewilder me to this day. (I do kind of love it, though.)

]]> Abby http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952431 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952431 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:30:06 -0800 Comment by terry Miller i actually can't believe it's going to happen in belgrade this year! i hope there's not a genocidal war before it happens.

only 2 1/2 months to go!

]]> terry Miller http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952473 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952473 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:50:43 -0800 Comment by Abby Me too. Hopefully trying to fight about Kosovo again can wait until after Eurovision.

I'm so excited! Now is one of my favorite times...when all the insane music videos show up on Youtube. I'm still getting mileage out of Switzerland from last year.

]]> Abby http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952623 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952623 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:24:30 -0800 Comment by terry Miller oh abby! have you seen ireland's?

it's sung by a turkey and is called "irelane douze pointe!"

it is fawk-ing cuh-razy!

]]> terry Miller http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952690 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952690 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:03:32 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Those are both great, but neither one is Schlager. Schlager is German "mom" music, ultra-light, emotional vocal pop for old ladies -- stuff that makes Barry Manilow look like black metal. It is folk-based, but it's the folk music of Heidi and the beer cellar. The prototypical Schlager artist is Heino.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/5991/heinoaudio.html

]]> Fnarf http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952731 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952731 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:00:01 -0800 Comment by Abby I love Ireland's except for that I can't look at it. I have a thing about grotesque-looking puppets like that. But it's a brilliantly odd entry. Estonia is great too (and perhaps a bit more schalger-sounding, Fnarf?)

I see a single line about Eurovision and that's immediately what I'm drawn to. It's somewhat of an obsession.

]]> Abby http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952739 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952739 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:15:58 -0800 Comment by terry Miller @5 yeah, i say that in the post, it's just been popping up in blog post on other sites lately as a descriptive. so i thought i'd put up some english stuff that represents it fairly well.

in fact i read an article about kelly marie somewhere that called her a "schlager singer". dunno.

and besides, how can you not be swayed by crap like "save your kisses for me". brilliant!

]]> terry Miller http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952743 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952743 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:21:41 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Oh, I'm swayed, all right. It's lovely!

]]> Fnarf http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952825 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952825 Dust Bin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:23:08 -0800 Comment by Piglet Eurovision!!! My god, I'm totally obsessed already.
Love the mention of all the Eastern European songs for Ireland.
For Iceland a weird song with rubber-clad ladies was in the running for ages, unfortunately it didn't make it.
Belgium could be sending a saccharine sweet piano-ballad. Or we could go for something folkie and weird. Or R&B. It's always an adventure....
The UK decides which song will get null points in Belgrade tonight ;-)

]]> Piglet http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952888 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c952888 Dust Bin Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:12:30 -0800 Comment by Abby Iceland's is at least classic terrible Eurodisco, so I'm glad for that, but it doesn't stand out as much as it could.

I love the UK's entries every year. They're so bad they're brilliantly car-crash.

]]> Abby http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c953103 http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/schlager#c953103 Dust Bin Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:27:21 -0800